Beneath the Catcombs: a warhammer 40k short story
by RukinoSaki
Summary: Short story i made when we had reading time at class


Beneath the Catacombs

Part 1:

As they rose from the ground, the earth shattered beneath our feet. Hundreds of Necron warriors rose from the ground wielding their so-called "Gauss rifles" known for shattering objects to sub-atomic levels.

We all shuddered in fear. Our faces were pale due to the cramped up space in the bunker. I asked the Lord General for orders, but he was too shocked to say anything at all. "I have misjudged them, they **do** return back from the dead" murmured the Lord General.

From the hundreds that came, thousands appeared right after. We were outnumbered.

Then, the Lord General shouted: "Fire you fools! Destroy them in the name of the _Emperor_!"

A sudden burst of las-fire, cannon blasts and explosions erupted from our position. The sound of it was intense and deafening, that's for sure. I prepped my Las-gun and aim for the nearest Necron warrior I could find. I fired a shot, but once it hit, it didn't seem to penetrate the self-repairing _Necrodermis_.

Our job was to protect the entrance to this sacred _Manufactorum_, I thougt that we have failed that day. The Necrons resisted our fire. Even a fire from the _Manticore_ artillery tank can't kill them!

We were trapped, we had no chance of retreating. Within the last few hours, we tried to do as much as we can to hold our ground and protect the Manufactorum. But our efforts where useless, our bunker has already been damage which was positioned on the second front. Then I heard something coming out of the Vox communicator: "Sir, we have lost the front line, casualties: 50000 men". "Where is the Lord General?!" I said to my second officer. He said that he fled into the Manufactorum.

*KABLAMM!

An explosion erupted from the western side of the catacombs. A large cloud of smoke covered the whole area. Suddenly, blue streaks of light began firing from the cave and thousands of Tau troops emerged from the dark.

"Don't let the prey strike fear into you Shas'la! Kill these beings in the name of the Greater Good!"

Thousands upon thousands of Tau warriors and Battlesuits poured from the opening bearing their powerful plasma rifles that can shoot a target from a mile away without fail. The Commander was in a green battlesuit, and he seemed to be more inspiring than our Lord General and gave us more morale to fight!

Their firepower was bright, destructive and explosive. I've never seen so many Tau in my life. Most of the Necrons retreated due to the sheer power of the combined forces. I wouldn't exactly call it "combined" because most of the men were surprised to see others in the catacombs. "Lieutenant, didn't you pick up any heat signatures from before?

"Sorry sir, our radars showed no signs. The walls in this catacomb are very thick and have some kind of power imbued to it" replied the Lieutenant".

Part 2: Into the alien's vision

As we poured forth and attacked the foul beings, the Gue'la (humans) looked shocked. They seem to be not used to warfare. I took aim and fired a set of launches together with my Shas'la (squad). We worked together in sync. The second wave of battlesuits arrived once we pushed the Necrons farther back to their tombs. Our commander said that we should push forth a few kilometers until he will give his order.

He approached the human's bunker and began talking to one of their leaders I presume. He was confined to his suit due to an injury made by one of our sniper drones due to that it was controlled by those cursed tech priests. At first we thought it was a malfunction but we soon realized that the drone's system was corrupted heavily. Now he relies on the battlesuit life support systems until he truly dies.

He later entered the so-called "Manufactorum", a sort of place which is sacred to the mechanical Gue'la (humans). My squad and a few others had orders to stay near the opening unless there was something wrong.

"Look at those freaks, they have hoofs for feet ha!"

"Haha! He looks like a cow!"

"Quiet you fools! They can hear you!" whispered the Lieutenant.

"we** can** hear you, human" said one of my fellow Shas'la soldier.

Part 3: Human to Alien

'Though the aliens seem to look different and sound different from our guardsmen, they seem to have a normal personality. They might even have wives, children or siblings. I bet most of them have a family who is still waiting for them in their homeworld' thought the Lord General. He was taking a stroll around the massive structure. He met a few tech priests on his way.

"you are not welcome here, Lord General"

"Do you not know that I am part of the **Inquisition**?"

"my apologies, but I serve a higher order, the higher priests of Mars"

"I see, aren't they called the Magos order?"

"Yes sir"

"then carry on with your work, tech priest. I will not disturb these parts no longer"

The Tech-Priest nodded in a positive way and went back to working on the large generators.

As he went further down into the depths of the enclosed Manufactorum, he met the Commander of the Tau forces: Shas'O tel'arim. They both approached each other in a big manufacturing room which use to make Dreadnought, mechanized machines of war which are piloted by a damaged Space Marine awaiting his true death.

They stood there for a long time, staring at each other. Examining their bionics, upgrades, life-support systems, weapons and more.

"You do not seem to be a good leader, O'Gue'la. What seems to be bothering you?"

"I fear as much as my men, we feel so weak when someone else helps us. We're just meat shields"

"Meat shields?" asked the Shas'O

"Free prey for the enemy" replied the Lord General

" I see, you and you're men are used as just free prey? Then show those who see you as prey who **are** the prey!

Never fall back! Never doubt! You are a leader for Mont'au's sake! You are supposed to be inspiring you're troops, not betraying them! Hear me now, even if you trust me or not, those things out there are here to get us and if you're men look and sound like prey, then they become one for the rest of their lives! Show them that you are a predator and fight back!"

Said Shas'O Tel'Arim.

The Lord General took some time to think about what the Tau commander said while the other one went away. 'Even though I've been ordered to not listen to xenos, he was actually right. Me and my men where just used as bait the whole time. I think it's time to push forward!'

He then rushed out to see his men. He approached the Second Lieutenant Officer and ordered him to half of the forces sitting near the Manufactorum off and venture into the catacombs with the Lord General. He let the heavy vehicles stay due to their low mobility and let the lighter ones come with them as transport.

Part 4: As dark as the night

"It is very hard to see here my fellow troops" said one of the Firewarriors. "Switch on your lights and night vision sensors so that the darkness does not deceive you"

Once the Tau army ventured forth into the deeper parts of the catacombs, they discovered a mysterious structure. A gigantic bridge that led to a pyramid-like structure. The Commander arrived to see what was happening and plotted out how to cross the bridge without thinking that there is going to be a trap.

Suddenly, Green lights flickered in the darkness. At first it was faint, but it became more frequent. A voice came from the dark that sounded loud and echoing due to the large openings in the catacombs.

"We have accepted death, and we were granted with eternal life by our true masters. Now you I will vanquish you and your pathetic army, foolish Commander"

"Show yourself coward!" replied Shas'O Tel'Arim and pointed his sword up.

He then whispered into his intercom silently to entrench the Xv88-9 Broadside battlesuits. Small tremors where made due to the sheer weight of the Broadside battlesuits. The ground trembled as we approached...


End file.
